


life jacket blues

by fongia



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Past Character Death, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-12 17:36:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15345000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fongia/pseuds/fongia
Summary: While on a two-week getaway on Tony's private island, Bucky learns a bit more about the man.Featuring: pyromaniac Natasha Romanov, asshole Clint Barton and Thor's pink flip flops, with a dash of Stony.Based off the tweet by @betsylozan (6/11/18):"when i was at the lake there was a group of college guys jumping off a cliff and they were all giving this one dude in their group crap for wearing a life jacket when no one else had one on & he goes “quit it i pinky promised my girl i would wear it” and i think about that a lot"





	life jacket blues

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my first fanfiction that I'm posting even though I've been a huge Marvel fan for years. 
> 
> Warning: There is talk of drowning and character death but it is not explicit.

Bucky had seen a lot in his twenty-five years: traveling to foreign countries, trekking through caves, climbing up mountains and so much more. He was experienced in the way that not a lot of his peers could relate to. 

 

With his friend group, it was inevitable; Steve, the idiot, was an adrenaline junkie, always pushing the others to go on the tallest roller coasters or wrangling them all to go skydiving. Bucky was the adventurous one, always looking to see or learn something new, whether it be exploring a city or foreign cuisine. Clint had a penchant for explosions, Thor knew far more about hurricanes and other storms than any meteorology professor and he’d never gotten her to admit it yet, but Natasha had to have some degree of pyromania with the unholy amount of glee in her eyes whenever there was a fire of any sort. Quiet Bruce, after a few drinks, seemed to be fascinated with tattoos and needles, which had led to hilarious situations with drunk tattoos or desperately holding Bruce back from stumbling towards the nearest parlor. And Tony, well, he was a mix of all of them, but he loved flying, and that translated into the gang paragliding or cramming into helicopters.

 

All seven of them, plus a handful of others, went on a trip to one of Tony’s private islands—Bucky never got used to how casual Tony was about owning things like this—full of waterfalls and hidden beaches and beautiful scenery and clear water. Tony had a property big enough for eight, and the whole group crammed into it without complaint. Natasha had stalked a claim on the bedroom with the best view, and shared with Pepper. Steve and Tony got the biggest one with a massive custom bed—and Steve was a big guy, but for what reason did Tony need a bed like that? Bucky roomed with Clint on the top floor, and Thor and Bruce took one as well. Jane, Wanda and the others split the rest. 

 

The glorious two week getaway was catalogued by the shutter of Wanda’s camera and Steve’s sketches. Time didn't move forward in the same way it did back home, and Bucky measured it in the spaces between running into the waves, exploring the island and tanning on the beach. He didn't know what day it was and he doubted Tony knew either, since Steve had convinced him to leave his electronics behind, which had him in cooped-up engineer-mode for the first few days, upgrading things that didn't need upgrading, but he eventually relaxed and Bucky saw the man without dark bags under his eyes for the first time. 

 

And one day, someone had suggested cliff diving, and the group was split between those that stayed and those that went. Tony was among those that stayed behind, and after a terse conversation with Steve, the group went off. 

 

Thor led the pack with his ridiculous pink flip flops—” _ a fine gift from the Lady Jane _ ”—with the bags split between him and Steve, who took up the rear. The cliff itself wasn’t that tall, but Bucky saw the excitement in Steve’s eyes as he mapped out the distance from cliff to water. Jane and Darcy dragged each other along, and Darcy rolled her eyes as Jane went into the technicalities of jumping from such a height, but offered her own input all the same. When they got to the top, Thor peered over the edge with Jane to ensure that the fall would be safe, while Darcy went through the bags for life jackets and Clint began reapplying sunscreen.

 

Fumbling with the slippery bottle, Bucky looked for Steve in order to make sure he wouldn’t burn in the sun, and was stunned. Darcy was trying to stuff Steve into a life jacket and failing miserably as they both tried to bring both ends of the jacket together. Bucky wandered over and loosened the straps so that it could fit, and Steve smiled sheepishly.

 

Bucky only gave him a look as he ushered the life jacket off so he could spray Steve’s back. As he was rubbing sunscreen into Steve’s neck, Bucky asked the question that was stewing in his mind.

 

“Why the hell are you wearing a life jacket?”

 

Steve tensed beneath his hands and Bucky finished his back before handing the bottle over so that Steve could get his front. 

 

“Promise you won't tell anyone, Buck?” Steve looked nervous and Bucky was bewildered. 

 

Bucky rolled his eyes. “You know I won’t. Not if it’s serious.”

 

Steve didn't smile, and Bucky felt apprehension crawl up his neck. Steve was a great swimmer, one of the best next to Natasha, and he was always one of the first to jump into the water, if not leading the charge. 

 

“Tony insisted I wear it.”

 

Bucky had to hold back a snort. Based on the sour look on Steve’s face, he wasn’t quite successful.

 

“Don’t laugh. He’s scared of water.”

 

Bucky stared. He looked around, making a show of examining the island around him. “He invited us to his private island.”

 

“And he never touched the water since we got here.” Steve snapped, then rubbed a hand over his face. “Listen, can we talk about this later? Don't make a big deal over it in front of the others. Tony was so embarrassed he almost didn't talk to me about it.”

 

Bucky nodded. Then he reached over and shrugged on a life jacket. Steve gave him a grateful smile before they both made their way over to the cliff’s edge. 

 

Thor went first, whooping loudly as he went, and shouted for the next person to come next. Bucky went after Clint took a running leap, screaming the whole way down, and Steve followed. Once Jane and Darcy surfaced, they all made their way up for one more jump and a short swim in the cove before heading back.

 

Bucky, Clint and Jane carried the bags on the way back. After a while, Bucky slowed his pace so that there was some distance between him and the group. Steve turned around to look for him before taking the hint. They strolled in silence as Steve collected his thoughts.

 

“His mom died when he was twelve. He went swimming at night, and something happened. He doesn't remember the night in its entirety, and he figures it was the trauma of it all. His mom went looking for him and she never came up, but he did. He nearly drowned himself when he was laid out on the beach. Swore he coughed up a small pond once he got out.” Steve scratched the back of his neck. “Her body washed up on the beach a few hours later.” 

 

Bucky opened and closed his mouth a few times before settling on, “I’m sorry.” 

 

“Tony’s the one struggling, not me.” Steve sighed. “He blames himself for it. While he was in the hospital, he promised himself that he’d never go swimming again.”

 

“He never had a problem with you swimming before?”

 

“He did, he just never mentioned it until now. Must have been the added danger of jumping off a cliff that set him off.”

 

The rest of the trip back was spent in a melancholy silence. Bucky racked his brains over their previous trips to the pool and couldn't remember a single time when Tony had even stuck a toe in. And here he was, inviting all his friends to an island surrounded on all sides by the ocean that claimed his mother.

 

“Why did he plan this trip?” Bucky asked Steve’s retreating back as he made his way over to Tony, still donning his life jacket.

 

“You were stressed.”

 

“Me?”

 

Steve stopped and turned his head to the side. “Wanda too. A bunch of the guys were overworked or worried about school and Tony decided we all needed a break.” And off he went, plopping into the sand behind Tony and wrapping his arms around him. 

 

Bucky laid out on Natasha’s towel when she went to go splash around in the waves and kept an eye on Tony. He watched the others having fun, but never inched closer to the water. Pepper and Rhodes were stretched out beside him, and Bucky thought it was in solidarity as Tony’s closest friends. And when Steve’s hands started drumming a rhythm onto his thighs, Tony pushed him into joining the others with a small smile as Steve dunked Clint’s head into the water and initiated a splash fight with Natasha. 

 

Bucky sat up and made his way over to Tony. Pepper peered over her sunglasses before smiling and returning to her book. Rhodes snored away.

 

“What’s up Buckaroo?”

 

Bucky fidgeted with his hands, rubbing his arms. “Can I talk to you about something?”

 

Tony must have saw something in his eyes, because his grin faded into something more like a grimace. “Steve told me already, if that’s what you’re asking about.” 

 

Bucky started to apologize, but Tony held up a hand.

 

“No need to say anything. Steve told me about it as soon as he came back, even if he was giving me that damn look.”

 

Bucky and Tony shared a moment of exasperation and amusement. Whenever Steve felt bad about something, the look on his face made Bucky want to forgive him immediately. 

 

“I trust you, Bucky. Just don't tell anyone.” Tony patted the sand next to him. “Enough about that. Let’s make fun of Clint’s sunburn and fill up Wanda’s SD card.” He held up the camera and aimed it towards Steve. Bucky rolled his eyes and made himself comfortable.

 

His first impression of Tony Stark was a spoiled rich kid that never quite matured past his teens, and in some ways, that was true. Tony still had that childlike curiosity about things that made Steve all mushy and could be a bit too trusting. He could also be far more mature than any of the others could even fathom, and Bucky saw it in the way he stared out at the ocean, camera safely in Wanda’s waterproof case and smiling softly at Steve running from a drenched Natasha and her wet towel. This was a man that feared the water so much that he couldn’t even stick his feet in, but invited his friends to his island just so that they could have a reprieve from the stresses of daily life. 

 

Bucky leaned back, head resting just beside Pepper’s manicured feet on her towel, and dozed off. He woke up with sunscreen fully applied and a wrapped sandwich in a bag under a towel, with a small sticky-note.

 

_ Went off with Steve to make lunch. Didn’t want to wake you up, but saved you something. -T _

 

Later, when everyone was gathered around a bonfire and Natasha was watching it burn with a glint in her eyes, Bucky looked over to Steve and Tony, who were practically wrapped up in each other, and to the rest of his friends.

 

He wouldn't trade them for the world.

 

Well, except Clint. The guy was an asshole. Bucky watched him dump a cup of ocean water over Rhodes, who ended up falling asleep again, and smirked as they took to wrestling on the sand. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Go follow me on tumblr: [@fongia](https://fongia.tumblr.com)!


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